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AutoIndustriya.com GT5 Challenge 2 Finals

Text: / Photos: Brent Co, Dean Ang | posted April 24, 2012 15:12

Top 16 players do all out to decide who is the GT5 Challenge Champion

The Final 16 Championship Round of the AutoIndustriya.com GT5 Challenge 2 at the 2012 Trans Sport Show was comprised of the top three qualifiers from each of the five rounds plus the champion from the previous challenge, who was pre-qualified. The lineup was composed of some of the best players in the country ranging from teenagers, college students, young professionals and even professional race drivers. Competition was based on a 16-player ladder format where they get to drive a BMW M3 Coupe, Honda CR-Z, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, Nissan GT-R or Toyota 86.

Round of 16

In the pairing between Jan Millard Lacuna and Pierre Loyola, they drove the Honda CR-Z on the Suzuka Circuit East Course. Lacuna did a 1:02.282 on his second lap, besting Loyola’s 1:02.681 on his third lap. Gerhart Santos bested John Pelayo on their matchup at the London City Circuit on the Toyota 86 with Santos clocking a 1:05.998 in his first lap against Pelayo’s 1:07.747 on his third lap. Daryl Brady bested Jon Esguerra's third lap best time of 1:39.861 aboard the Honda CR-Z on the Deep Forest Raceway Reverse with a 1:35.499 on the first lap.

Pressure overtook 14-year old Benette Pulta as he was paired against professional race driver Enzo Pastor to drive the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X on the Madrid City Circuit. The youngster spun out on both occasions in his first and last laps but came up with a 1:37.490 laptime. Pastor made a 1:36.079 on his third lap with a relatively relaxed drive.

Patrick Alonzo’s 1:24.171 aboard the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X on the Rome City Circuit in Reverse was not quite enough to beat Mike Andal’s 1:23.183 as Andal advanced to the Top 8. Joel Erickson Urbi squared off with defending champion Terence Lallave on the Tokyo R246 on a BMW M3 Coupe with Urbi clocking a best time of 2:00.653 on his second lap. The defending champion countered with a 1:58.740 on his first lap.

James Ramos and Daniel Patrick Tan sent everyone up their seats with a very close fight with only two-hundredths of a second separating the two on the Rome City Circuit with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. Ramos clocked in at 1:23.116, while Tan clocked in at 1:23.357; both drivers set their fastest time in their second lap.

Victor Buensuceso and Elljay Mutuc battled it out on the London City Course Reverse aboard the Nissan GT-R making it all the more difficult to navigate through the tight city track. Mutuc mustered up a 59.670-seconds time on his third and final lap, while Buensuceso bested him with a 58.916-second time on his second lap to take the final place in the Top 8.

Top 8

Eight remained from the sixteen. The pairings were Lacuna against Santos; Brady against Pastor; Andal against Lallave; and Ramos against Buensuceso. All top 8 players received prizes from sponsors for advancing.

Previous 3rd placer Lacuna bested Santos on their duel on the Tokyo R246 City Course Reverse on the Toyota 86 as Lacuna clocked in at 2:09.593 on his first attempt nearly two seconds faster than Santos’ 2:11.020 time on his second lap. Brady advanced over Pastor as the two battled it out on the Special Stage R5 highway course with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. Brady clocked in at 1:34.408, while Pastor only mustered a 1:35.123; both clocked their best times on their third lap.

Andal succumbed to pressure in his battle with Lallave. Andal red lapped on all his attempts only managing a best of 1:44.942 plus a ten second red lap penalty. Lallave had a virtual walk in the park clocking in at a very conservative 1:20.954. They drove the Nissan GT-R on the Deep Forest Raceway.

The last battle was between Ramos and Buensuceso on the Trial Mountain Circuit aboard the Nissan GT-R, immense pressure on Ramos took its toll as the young competitor red lapped his final 1:33.993 time which constituted a ten-second penalty, while Buensuceso clocked in at 1:33.733 on his third lap to advance to the Final 4.

Final 4

The final 4 qualifiers received additional prizes from sponsors as further rewards for their efforts. The pairings were Lacuna against Brady and Lallave versus Buensuceso. The winners would advance to the championship battle, while the losers battled it out for third.

Brady and Lacuna drove the BMW M3 Coupe the Nurburgring GP/F, both players were intent on getting into the championship. Lacuna managed a 2:17.481 on this third lap, while Brady only drove a 2:18.078 on first lap and red lapped his next two attempts handing the win to Lacuna.

In the duel on the Suzuka Circuit, it was Buensuceso who drove first aboard a Nissan GT-R clocking a best time of 2:14.350 on his third lap. Lallave uncharacteristically lost composure on his first lap going off track due to cold tires sending the crowd to a big gasp. He however made up for it on the second lap clocking in at a blistering 2:11.513 nearly three seconds ahead.

Championship Battle

For the championship battle, competitors were to drive only one lap on the Nurburgring Nordschliefe aboard the Motul Autech GT-R Super GT Racecar on soft compound race tires with all driving aids turned off. After all, what better way to decide the champion than to go all out?

Lacuna drove first making a mistake midway through his lap going off track setting off a red lap and clocking in at 7:04.711. This meant Lallave merely needed to drive a clean lap without making a mistake, he did more than that and clocked a 6:40.626 beating Lacuna by more than 24 seconds.

Battle for Third

The rules were the same in the battle for third. It was Buensuceso who drove first clocking a clean 7:00.938 lap. Brady followed with an unmatched pace for the most of his lap even exceeding Lallave’s pace. However, a serious mistake would be the start of his woes as he goes off track at exactly the same portion as Lacuna and further continued to lose focus as he made mistake after mistake and eventually decided to concede.

The final result was Terrence Lallave in 1st, Jan Millard Lacuna in 2nd, Victor Buensuceso in 3rd and Daryl Brady in 4th. The top three received 4-liters of Motul engine oil each, and prizes from Mothers Philippines.

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